Eight qualifying stages, seven different states and one destination: the final round, to be held on Lake Michigan in Racine, Wisconsin.
The beach soccer movement is gaining more and more importance across the globe, and the United States, a country passionate about sports, is one of the biggest examples.
Recognizing the transnational passion for beach soccer, this year, the Beach Soccer Championships and ProAm Beach Soccer have teamed up to conceive a very ambitious project: the US Beach Soccer National Championships, to take place over a couple of months al across the USA.
The competition will feature seven qualifying stages, in seven different locations, including Oceanside (California), Santa Cruz (California), Pompano Beach (Florida), Seaside (Oregon), Galveston Island (Texas), Racine (Wisconsin) and Atlantic City (New Jersey). Success in these events will grant access to the US National Beach Soccer Championships Final Stage, which will travel again to the shores of Lake Michigan in Racine.
The traditional annual Oceanside, California beach soccer event opened the 2018 US National Beach Soccer Championships kick-off, with Go Beach Soccer and NorCal BSC becoming the first teams to qualify for the Final Stage Men’s Open Division.
Tighe O’Sullivan, the man behind this project was in attendance in Oceanside to see all the action. “The Oceanside event was a perfect way to start our qualifiers for 2018. Seeing GoBeachSoccer face NorCal BSC in the final could be preview for things to come in Racine on Lake Michigan in August. But the 13u – 19u, Women’s Open, and Coed gave us great insight on how beach soccer is helping with development overall. We could not be happier with the support of so many youth soccer organizations across the USA promoting beach soccer as an educational tool to better develop higher skilled players. There is no question beach soccer excels in this for our youth development“.
In turn, Joan Cusco, the Executive Vice President of Beach Soccer Worldwide, sees this 2018 US National Championships as a new demonstration of the continuing popularity beach soccer has enjoyed in the USA. “North America is, and has always been, a territory where beach soccer keeps showing great signs of development. We have seen how the sport has enjoyed great recognition here, with great events and competitions such as this one or the NASSC, in Virginia Beach, with thousands of participants and a history of 25 years. I want to thank Tighe O’Sullivan for his vision and the trust in sport, and for having put together such an interesting project”.
The complete calendar of the upcoming US National Beach Soccer Championship is as follows:
US Beach Soccer National Championship Qualifiers:
May 4-6th Oceanside, CA
June 9/10 Santa Cruz, CA
June 23rd/24 Pompano Beach, FL
June 30/July 1 Seaside, OR
July 7/8 Galveston Island, TX
July 21/22 Racine, WI
July 28/29 Atlantic City, NJ
USBSNC Final stage:
August 17-19th, Lake Michigan, Racine, WI
